This was true everywhere in the United States…until the Smith’s were encouraged by friends and family to take up the fight.
"Other people kept pushing and saying we can probably change this and so Kim and I jumped on board,” Chris Smith explained. “They said you're either all in or not all in and so that's when we started being interviewed and being on radio stations and TV and became friends with you (Sean) and so it was worth it. Everything was worth it.”
An online petition gathered more than 5,600 signatures of support. Leaders in Washington D.C. joined the fight. Congressional Rep. Tom Reed (R - Corning) partnered with U.S Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D – New York) and they pressed the United States Postal Service to change its stance.
The Smith’s won. A third dedication ceremony was scheduled for Monday, January 28th, 2013. Three years after Smith’s remains returned to his hometown of Hornell.
"We brought him home on the 30th back in 2010," Chris Smith recalled. "We opened the door now we're not going to be on a crusade, but we opened the door so I'm hoping a lot of other communities jump on board. I would love to see over in Scio, because that's part of my patrol area as a trooper, I would love to see Jason Dunham's name on the post office over there because they've named it after him and he's got the same plaque on the inside that Zach does.”
“If it took three years to the day from when that bill was signed it was time well spent,” Kim Smith said. “When I do something like this and stand up for the military it's not just for Zach it's for all of them.”
